


Getting Your Kicks

by RedTeamShark



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Single Parents, Amputation and Prosthetics, Coach Yang and Assistant Coach Mercury, F/M, Fluff, Football | Soccer, Minor Character Death (Mentioned)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-08
Updated: 2018-03-08
Packaged: 2019-03-28 17:19:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13908663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedTeamShark/pseuds/RedTeamShark
Summary: Mercury would do anything for his daughter's happiness, so when the opportunity to help keep her youth soccer coach organized comes up he takes it. That Yang Xiao Long seems interested in him as more than an assistant is only a bonus.





	Getting Your Kicks

Six-thirty in the morning, alarm clock yanking him from sleep. Mercury swatted at it impatiently, dropping his arm over his eyes and sighing. Monday.

Six-forty-five, knocking on his daughter’s door after his shower, hearing the sleepy mumble of “awake, daddy” that meant he’d be back in five minutes to actually get her out of bed.

By seven they were both in the kitchen, cereal and juice for her, toast and coffee for him. Neither was a morning person, but at least Lyra didn’t fight him on getting out of bed anymore. Those first few weeks had had a lot of unexcused tardies to school that he just couldn’t bother caring about. At least her teacher had understood.

“So… Emerald’s going to pick you up after school and I’ll be home for dinner. Sounds good?”

“Yeah…” One arm propped her head up, free hand spooning cereal to her mouth. Mercury stood, patting her shoulder gently. “Hey, Daddy?”

“Mm?”

“There’s signs up at school for sports and stuff. Can I do that?”

Mercury paused with his coffee cup in the sink, looking out the window. Big changes, losing her mother, moving in with a near-stranger who lived halfway across the country. The social worker said stability was the key, normal social interactions, letting life carry on like it always had. The psychologist agreed, added that something with her peers outside of school might help. Energy outlet, emotional support from children her own age. He wasn’t cut out to understand it all, but if she wanted to, he’d make sure she could. “Yeah, of course. Do you know what one you wanna try?”

“I’unno… I’ll look.”

He moved back to her, kissed the top of her head. “Whatever you decide, kiddo.” 

Seven-thirty, her on the school bus and him off to work. They’d talk about it that night, he’d arrange to start picking her up from practice whenever he could. Easy enough.

* * *

The shrill of the whistle led him back behind the school, kids running in every direction on a freshly painted soccer field, a blonde woman standing in the middle trying to draw them in. She blew the whistle again and the group of grade-schoolers congregated on her, a tight clump of children listening eagerly as she read from a clipboard.

Mercury took a seat on the bleachers with the smattering of other parents, spotting Lyra out on the field. He watched as she ran to one of the lines, caught her eye and waved. She waved back, turning to the ball as the woman--coach, apparently--set it up and blew her whistle to start the scrimmage. 

Mercury may have known next to nothing about soccer, but that seemed to put him on roughly an even playing field with most of the kids out there. If there was supposed to be any sort of formations or cohesion to the two teams, that quickly fell apart to a gang of children chasing the black and white ball up and down the field, kicking up dirt and grass more than goals and points.

Another two shrills from the whistle seemed to end the match, group of children running up and kneeling when instructed. It was impossible to hear what the coach was saying, but she soon waved them off, sending kids scattering. Mostly to the drinking fountain on the far side of the field, a few running to the stands and their parents.

Lyra hopped onto the bench next to him, her head dropping to rest against Mercury’s side. “Hey, pipsqueak.”

“Hi, daddy! Did you see me play?”

“Sure did. You were really fast out there.” He dug into the backpack he’d brought, Emerald’s suggestion, pulling out a water bottle and a granola bar. “Snack break before we go get your backpack and go home?”

Lyra ate and drank ravenously, sitting on the bench and swinging her feet. Most of the other kids had already dispersed, maybe half a dozen still lingering on the field. Mercury looked around for parents, spotting only the blonde coach.

“Coach Yang is really nice…” His daughter grinned, jumping off the bench and pointing across the field. “That’s Castor and that one’s Pollux… wait, no, the other way. They’re Coach Yang’s kids and they’re both nice, too.” How anyone could tell the two blonds Lyra had pointed out apart was beyond him. One might have had longer hair, the other might have been taller. “I got to spend time with them the other yesterday because Emerald was late.”

“Oh?” He held out his hand, let her pull him upright and lead the way back to the school. One last look over his shoulder, something nagging at him. “Hey, Lyra, you wanna stick around and play for a bit longer?” She was off like a shot, running back to the field with the kids that were still there. The thought had sprouted in his head almost before he could process it, the idea that leaving one person alone with that many kids wasn’t the best.

Mercury crossed the field towards the storage shed the coach was currently in, lifting one leg and lightly stopping a kickball as it bounced out towards him. He bent down, picking it up and carrying it back, nearly running into Coach Yang as she turned.

“Oh, sorry, I was just--are you here to pick up one of the kids? I have the sign out sheets um… somewhere… Shit-- _ shoot _ I forgot to print another copy of those.” She huffed, pushing her hair back from her forehead and turning, eyes scanning the field and the scattered kids still there. “Wait, Lyra’s back? I thought I saw her leave… darn it!”

“I’m Lyra’s dad,” he offered, passing her the kickball. “You’ve got about four that are unaccounted for, assuming you only have the two she told me about for yourself.”

“Yeah, just the twins for me. Okay… okay, yeah, I saw everyone else leave with their regulars. Good. Thank god. I promise, I’m not usually this flustered when it comes to making sure the kids get home with the right people but my assistant just quit and--anyways, there’s no sign out sheet today so you can take her home whenever you want.” She stepped out of the shed, shutting the door firmly and turning to watch the field.

“Well, we don’t have anything to do but make dinner and work on homework, so… I can stick around for a bit, keep you company until everyone else gets picked up. Mercury Black, by the way.” He offered his hand and she waved him off lightly.

“Sorry, I’m a left-handed shaker.” For the first time, Mercury noticed the stiffness of her right arm. He switched hands, catching her grin as she gave a left-handed handshake. “Yang Xiao Long.”

Two more kids picked up by two more adults, waving happily to Yang as they left. Mercury crossed his arms, watching the five that remained on the field.

“Lyra really likes soccer,” she said after a few minutes of quiet, reaching up and brushing her hair lightly behind her ear. “I mean, all the kids like running around and chasing the ball and that, but we were practicing goal kicks earlier and she really enjoyed it. Has a natural talent for it.”

“Didn’t get that one from me. I’ve never been into sports.”

“Her mom?”

Mercury hummed, his eyes on his little girl across the field. “Maybe. Her mom died about six months ago--”

“I’m sorry.”

“We weren’t together… I didn’t even know I had her until a social worker showed up. They said that if I didn’t want to take care of her, she could go into the foster care system, but I’d basically have to waive all rights to see her ever. I…” He shook his head. “Nevermind.”

Yang was quiet, biting her lip. Another parent showing up was an obvious relief. One kid left to be picked up, he could leave now, started to cross the field to get Lyra before Yang caught his eye again. She looked… tired. 

“Hey… when’s soccer practice? Like is it every night, or…?”

“Tuesday and Friday after school. It’s mostly just for fun, get the kids active and all that, not too intense.”

“Do you need a new coaching assistant? I don’t know anything about the game, but I can manage a clipboard like a pro.” He grinned, nodding to the small group of kids left playing. “Let you focus on them while I wrangle parents.”

Yang’s smile was soft, genuine, her eyes meeting his for a moment. “That’d be nice. Practice runs three-thirty to four-thirty, are you sure you can make it?”

“I’m sure.”

* * *

He could manage a clipboard like a pro, make copies like a boss, and let his eyes linger on Yang Xiao Long like a horrible person. She was probably married, even if he didn’t see a ring. There was a necklace around her neck that she might have kept it on, a thin silver chain he’d spotted peeking out of her t-shirt one afternoon when she’d pulled her hair up into a bun. Plus those two kids of hers had to come from  _ somewhere _ . He could picture them, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed nuclear family, probably with a dog.

These thoughts didn’t stop him from getting to know her, though. It was nice to talk to another adult about something that wasn’t work-related and wasn’t Emerald’s abysmal love life. And even if he’d never seen himself as one of  _ those _ parents, bragging about his kid was easily second nature.

Most of that was reserved for after practices, watching the kids run around and interrupting themselves to sign them out when parents showed up. 

Yang took a seat next to him on the bleachers when there were only two kids not yet picked up, stretching her legs out and bending forward, left hand reaching down towards her toes. “Hey, personal question?”

“Sure?”

She reached over, nudging his prosthetic leg lightly. “How’d it happen?”

Most people couldn’t notice, but given that she was in a similar situation, Mercury wasn’t too surprised she’d caught on. He hardly thought about it anymore, just another part of his daily routine. Put on his leg, just like putting on his shoe. “Car accident. I was twelve.”

“That’s rough.”

“You get used to it.”

“Yeah…” She sat up, reached for her necklace and pulled it from her shirt, a pair of dog tags shining in the afternoon sun. “I took two tours in Iraq, made it home without a scratch both times. Come back to base after weekend leave and an equipment malfunction… Well, I had to learn how to be left-handed.”

Dogtags. Combat. Not a wedding ring. “Was that before or after the kids? I mean, if you don’t mind a personal question.”

“Before. Almost killed me, realizing I was never gonna be able to hold them both at the same time…” She looked over at the twins, a smile on her face. “But they managed okay with it, I guess. Their dad helps out a lot.”

‘Their dad.’ Not ‘my husband.’ He was putting pieces together quickly. “Divorce?”

“Amicable. We realized pretty early on that we weren’t as in love as we thought. Still want what’s best for each other and what’s best for the boys, we just both know that being together isn’t the answer to it.” She shrugged, slipping the tags back into her shirt. “You seem to be doing good with what’s best for her, too.”

“She’s my whole world,” Mercury agreed, his eyes on Lyra as she chased after one of Yang’s twins with the soccer ball. “If I could go back, I’d do it all the same in a heartbeat.”

* * *

Four-thirty on the final Friday practice. All of the kids there, most of the parents watching the match between them. The majority were still just running haphazardly after the ball, but Yang had managed to coach some of them into actually playing the game. Mercury watched from the sidelines as Lyra passed the ball to one of the twins (he was  _ never _ going to be able to tell them apart at a glance,  _ never _ ) in range of the goal. Soccer had been good for her, getting to hang out with other kids, getting her energy out. Mercury knew it even without a social worker or psychologist telling him so. She slept better, got up easier, was always eager for practice days.

Not that it had no impact on him. Spending time was Yang was one of the highlights of his week, and the glances they’d been sending each other… It’d been a while since he’d really considered it, but she brought the idea back to his mind. A fling or something long term he wasn’t sure, didn’t want to press himself that hard into thinking about.

The caravan of kids and parents walked down the sidewalk to the ice cream stand after the game, celebratory treats for everyone at the end of the season. Yang stood up from her table, drawing attention with a blow of her whistle.

“I just want to thank everyone for a great season! You all learned so much and worked so hard and I’m so proud of you!” She reached down, tugging Mercury up gently. “I also want to thank Mercury, my coaching assistant, who can manage a clipboard like no one else! I really hope that I’ll see all of you again next fall on the field, and tell your friends to come play, too.”

He flushed at the scattered applause, taking a seat as quickly as he could and nudging Yang when she sat down next to him. “Really? You did all the work, I just made sure no one kidnapped a kid.”

“Which is sort of really, really important at age seven.”

They walked back to the school together after everyone else had left, watching their own little group run ahead of them. Yang kept herself on Mercury’s right side, her pace slowed to stay even with his slight limp. “Cold weather?”

“That and I pushed myself a bit too hard this week at work. No big deal, though.” He felt her hand touch his, her fingers lingering against his skin for a moment. “Do you…”

“It’s risky, you know?” She took his hand more firmly, eyes straight ahead. “There’s so many things that could go wrong at any moment. I could be dead so many times over… So when I have a chance for something that I think will make me happy, I take it. Like coaching my boys’ soccer team.”

He squeezed her hand, nodding slowly. “You think this could make you happy?”

“I think so.”

“Me, too.”

Their kiss was slow, gentle, almost hesitant. Mercury slipped a hand around the back of her neck, tilted her head up to him slightly.

" _Ew_ !” The shout made them pull away, flushed and laughing. “Your dad just kissed my mom, ew!” One of the twins clarified, drawing the attention of his brother and Lyra.

“Ew, ew, ew! Daddy, stop that!” Lyra shouted, storming over and pushing his hand out of Yang’s. “Don’t be gross!”

Mercury laughed, reaching down and scooping her up instead, kissing the top of her head before putting her on his shoulders. “Aw, c’mon, kiddo, I’m sure you’ll wanna kiss someone one day, too.”

“No way. You’re gross, Daddy.”


End file.
